Flood Insurance Rate Rollback Headed for House Vote

Congressional leaders say they're planning a floor vote in the House of Representatives on a measure that would limit the sharp rate increases that are slamming homeowners in coastal regions, according to a report from McClatchy D.C. (see: "House plans vote to limit flood insurance increases," by Greg Gordon).

"The bill takes a different approach than a measure that passed the Senate on Jan. 30 to delay for four years many of the premium hikes under a 2012 law aimed at restoring the National Flood Insurance Program to fiscal solvency after the ravages of Hurricanes Katrina and Sandy," McClatchy reports. "It also is less generous, allowing some premium jumps at earlier dates."

Insurance Journal has this report (see: "House Republicans Release Flood Insurance Relief Bill," by Andrew Taylor). "GOP aides say their measure would also repeal a provision that threatens hundreds of thousands of homeowners with huge premium increases under new and updated government flood maps," the Insurance Journal reports. "It also would allow homeowners to pass on government-subsidized premiums to people who buy their homes instead of requiring purchasers to pay actuarially sound rates immediately, as required by the 2012 law … But people whose second home is in a flood zone and those whose properties have repeatedly flooded would continue to see their premiums go up by 25% a year until reaching a level consistent with their real risk of flooding."

The full text of the current House bill is included in the Insurance Journal story.